What to expect

Indonesians will be on the water soon and will arrive earlier than ever before. We will have a range of delicious clean washed coffees, and we have expanded our volumes of the experimental preparations we began last year. Plus, we’ll have a selection of naturals. 

The different fermentation methods involve bacterias like Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces, anaerobic and partially anaerobic environments. Last year these coffees flew off the shelf, so if this is what you’re looking for, let us know sooner than later.

We expect the first shipment to arrive mid-September, and the second one late October. 

Wildan Mustofa of Frinsa Estate checking the Brix of a coffee cherry before harvest

Sourcing during Covid-19

Despite travel restrictions and the complicated circumstances, we are proud to say that sourcing and buying has been very smooth this year, for Indonesia and all of our origins currently in harvest. The main reason for this is the work of our fantastic producers who have been able to adapt. It is also thanks to our great sourcing team here in Oslo, and the strong relationships they have built by showing commitment over time. And finally we can thank our export partners for their great efficiency on samples, export prep and logistics in very challenging conditions. Despite not being able to travel, we continue to see so many good coffees on the tables here at HQ. 

We have been in constant dialogue with the Frinsa team throughout the last twelve months, and we started planning early, as we do every year, before the harvest started. As usual we have provided pre-financing to ensure the Frinsa Estate team have the capital necessary to maintain cash flow throughout the harvest. 

Our coffees at Frinsa Estate during the drying process

Our history with Frinsa Estate

We started to work in Indonesia in 2015. Then, as now, the majority of coffees are processed using the wet hulled method, but we went in search of producers willing to commit to fully washed and carefully dried coffees. We met Wildan Mustofa at Frinsa Estate, a producer and exporter who shared our goals, with ambitions to do something different. 

Frinsa Estate is located in Western Java around Pengalengan, and is run by Wildan, his wife Atieq who manages the administration and finances, and their son Fikri who came on board full time a little more than a year ago after finishing his university studies. Fikri is heavily involved in the processing side of things. 

The farming operation consists of different blocks in areas surrounding their wet mill and warehouse. In total they have coffees across a few hundred hectares. They have planted different varieties to see how they perform individually plus they partner with other larger farms and some selected outgrowers. 

Naturals and special preps

The initial lots of washed coffees performed extremely well, so a couple of years into the relationship we discussed the possibility of producing naturals. The team had already begun experimenting with adding lactobacillus when fermenting the premium washed coffees so last year we looked at protocols together and ran several experiments with different types of fermentation for both washed and naturals. 

Experiments of this kind are always hit and miss. Fortunately we had way more hits than misses last year, with the majority of the lots cupping far above our expectations. This year we have scaled up the volumes of the successful preps, while we continue to experiment and improve.  

Some experiments from last year’s harvest using Lactobacillus and overnight anaerobic fermentation in tubs.

We are super excited to get these coffees to Europe again, and we are confident that roasters looking for something on the wild side will not be disappointed. Plus we’ll have some great bright and classic washed and natural coffees too:) 

Indonesia offers, Seabridge, Belgium

P.S.

At the time of writing Fikri is at the hospital as his wife is giving birth to their first child. They are expecting a baby girl. A huge congrats from the NA team!


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